Welcome to the Future of Economics at the University of Utah.

The University of Utah is bringing together the Department of Economics and the QAMO Division to build the School of Economics. This is an important moment for our students, our faculty, our alumni, and the broader university community.

Economics has always been about understanding how people, organizations, markets, and institutions make decisions. Today, the tools for answering those questions are changing rapidly. Modern economics draws on theory, data, statistics, computation, experiments, history, and institutional knowledge. It connects naturally to business, public policy, finance, health, education, labor, technology, and the social sciences.

Our opportunity is to build a School of Economics that reflects that breadth.

The Department of Economics and QAMO each bring real strengths to this effort. Economics brings deep intellectual foundations, strength in research and teaching, and a long tradition of studying markets, policy, institutions, and human behavior. QAMO brings a strong connection to business education, quantitative analysis, data-driven decision-making, and organizational problem solving. Together, these strengths can create something distinctive at the University of Utah.

This site is intended to be a home for that work. It will share updates, announce events, highlight opportunities for students, and provide a place for feedback and public conversation. It will also support new initiatives, including the Future of Economics Forum and student engagement efforts connected to the development of the School.

The planning process will take time, and it will depend on faculty input, shared governance, student perspectives, and collaboration across colleges. Not everything will happen at once. Some things will move quickly; others will require careful discussion and planning. That is as it should be.

But the direction is clear. We are building a School of Economics that prepares students for a changing world, supports excellent research, strengthens connections across the university, and expands the role economics can play in public life.

I hope you will follow the work, attend events, share ideas, and help shape what comes next.

Scott Schaefer
The Dumke Family Presidential Endowed Chair in Honor of Katherine W. and E.R. Dumke, Jr.
Chair, Department of Economics
Chair, QAMO Division
University of Utah